Wasps Ko Former Magic Gm Gabriel

October 17, 2004

Former Magic general manager John Gabriel spent two days last week unconscious in the intensive care unit of Winter Park Hospital after having an allergic reaction to wasp stings.

Although Gabriel will return to work today for the Portland Trail Blazers, he barely survived the harrowing experience that left him strapped down on a hospital bed with his blood pressure dangerously low and breathing with the help of a ventilator.

Last Sunday, he was rushed to the hospital by a passing-by city worker who found him disoriented, gasping for breath and sweating profusely near the street in front of his Winter Park home.

Gabriel, who already had an infection from a wasp sting two weeks before, had been working in his back yard when he was stung repeatedly on his right arm. No one in his family was home at the time.

"I just remember jumping in that truck, and the next time I woke up, it was Tuesday morning in intensive care," Gabriel said. "I'm OK now, but it sure gave me a different respect for some things. I have a weed whacker you can have. I won't be using it anymore."

Gabriel spent 15 years with the Magic before he was fired late last season.